Solomon: Texans' progress is evident all over field

CommentaryProgress is evident all over field

The Texans brought a rougher welcome to Mark Sanchez and the Jets than the last time they visited.

The Texans brought a rougher welcome to Mark Sanchez and the Jets than the last time they visited.

Photo: Michael Paulsen, Chronicle

Photo: Michael Paulsen, Chronicle

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The Texans brought a rougher welcome to Mark Sanchez and the Jets than the last time they visited.

The Texans brought a rougher welcome to Mark Sanchez and the Jets than the last time they visited.

Photo: Michael Paulsen, Chronicle

Solomon: Texans' progress is evident all over field

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It might not count in the standings, but at least they didn't get pushed around.

The last time the Texans welcomed the New York Jets to town, Gary Kubiak's squad was far more accommodating. In deference to the Jets' superiority, they even wore all white to signify the all-out surrender.

Monday night at the comfy confines of Reliant Stadium (wind chill 25 degrees cooler inside than out), the new-look Texans offered quite a bit more resistance in a 20-16 victory.

The score matters little in exhibition games, particularly the first one, as the chief goal in such contests is to avoid major injuries. Taking steps toward developing a rhythm ranks No. 2 on the list of practice game objectives.

But the Texans, who won just two of their last 10 games in a dreadful 6-10 season, approached this game as an opportunity to show they are a different team.

New York is one of the best teams in the NFL, a legitimate Super Bowl contender. So even in a contest in which few starters played more than a quarter, the Jets, who have been to consecutive AFC Championship Games, offer a solid measuring stick. As does Saturday's opponent New Orleans

The Jets are what the Texans want to be. Of course, the Jets are what the Texans might never be until there is a different level of accountability throughout the organization. Owner Bob McNair says that will be the case this season, which is why this preseason might be more intense.

Thus far the Texans have responded.

Though the offense seemed a little out of sync with its top two weapons — receiver Andre Johnson and running back Arian Foster— watching from the sideline, the Texans debuted defensive coordinator Wade Phillips' 3-4 to much success.

Sack exchange

If the first fake game is a real indicator, this Texans squad will be the most aggressive defense a Houston NFL team has produced since the House of Pain was open for business next door at the Astrodome.

The Texans had three sacks in the first 16 minutes, four sacks in the first half and seven in the game.

OK, so four of the sacks came against rookie Greg McElroy, who was playing in his first game as a professional, but the Texans didn't have four sacks in any half last season, and only twice had four in a whole game. (The team record for sacks in a game is seven, set against St. Louis in 2005.)

"I thought in general you could see the aggressive nature of the defense," Kubiak said.

Aggression is something the Texans have long lacked.

Before these teams played in the regular-season opener two years ago, Jets' coach Rex Ryan told his team that the Texans were a soft bunch and absolutely no match for his squad.

The proof was in the pushing in a 24-7 Jets thrashing. It was one of the most embarrassing losses in Kubiak's career.

"You play that poorly, it starts with the coach," Kubiak said at the time, and how right he was.

Sanchez pays

The Texans barely laid a finger on then-rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, who wasn't sacked in the game. On Monday Sanchez was sacked on each of the two series of downs in which he played, and Kubiak described his defense's play as "really, really exceptional."

Put Game 1 of 2011, albeit an exhibition, down as a success.

If we ignore the dropped potential game-winning touchdown in the final minute that brought flashbacks of last season's late-game failures in the Texans' secondary, Kubiak can smile brightly because when the two teams put their best feet forward, the Texans didn't get their teeth kicked in.